"I felt pretty good," Swart said. "I don't like not doing anything."

Swart, a Kaiser High School graduate who just finished her sophomore swimming season at the University of San Diego, was just four seconds behind the male overall winner Dustin Fukuda of Mililani.

Fukuda, 16, who competes for Mililani High, trailed Swart for most of the race. With a quarter-mile remaining, Fukuda overtook Swart and the two swam neck-and-neck to the finish with Fukuda finishing in 19:21.

"I saw her and I was trying to catch up to her," Fukuda said. "When I first saw the orange buoy (near the finish), I felt pretty good and felt I could hold that speed."

"I saw him catch up to me and he's my teammate so it isn't a big deal," Swart said of Fukuda, who both compete for Kamehameha Swim Club. "As long as it wasn't another girl. We just raced against each other."

Both said conditions were good yesterday and like most of the 334 competitors, opted to swim farther out from shore to avoid the waves that were breaking onto the beach.

"I was trying to stay on the outside of the wave and keep up with everyone," said Leslie Christian, a Leilehua graduate who recently finished her freshman year of swimming at Tulane University.

"The lifeguard said that if you don't know the waves, that you should go over there and I didn't want to take any chances so I went on the outside," added Swart.

Fukuda and Swart were part of a top-seven finish by swimmers 19 and under. The race was tightly contested as just seven seconds separated the top three finishers with 18-year-old Quinton Darling clocking 19:28.

The Raging Isle Sprint kicked off the North Shore Swim Series. Three more races will be held through August with competitors earning points from each race based on their finish. At the end of the series, the three swimmers with the most points earn awards.

"I never do all of them (races) but maybe this year," Swart said.

For more information on the North Shore Swim Series, visit www.hawaiiswim.com.